Clan's Cynic Posted November 7, 2020 Share Posted November 7, 2020 (edited) Since I imagine not everybody will want to read their spoilers secondhand on the Rumours thread, I wondered if it might be better to have a dedicated spoiler thread. This isn't Psychic Awakening where the status quo is painfully maintained after all. Needless to say, I think I might be recanting my belief 3.0 would focus on Destruction. Between this and Direchasm, could it be we're looking at Slaanesh as the new antagonist for this edition? Quoting the compiled spoilers from spruesandbrews: The book opens in suitably epic style with The Prophecy of Parturition (fun fact, Parturition is the act of giving birth) a Slaaneshi prophecy detailing something that is most likely going to be very bad news to the Mortal Realms – The Dark Prince giving birth to an offspring! Quote When the serpent’s head splits in two beneath the glare of a crimson moon, then shall the Newborn One come forth. At the zenith of exultation it shall slither from the belly of it’s father. And the realms themselves shall quiver to witness its glittering magnificence. Extract from The Prophecy of Parturition Quote Well, that certainly doesnt sound like anything that we want to happen anytime soon… This is a ginormous lore development right off the bat, and we’re not even into the main narrative yet! The escape of Slaanesh has been something I have been really excited to see, but there has always been the question of how exactly it was going to happen – I never for one moment thought The Dark Prince might have a bun in the oven, ready to spawn it’s offspring to reclaim it’s fathers throne and enact vengeance on those who imprisoned him… The book moves into a recap of everything that has happened in this current story arch, from the Necroquake itself up to the siege of the Varanspire this is a nice way of consolidating the story so far and detailing in just how much trouble the Mortal Realms are at the moment. We learn that Morathi is looking for two things to complete the ritual that will allow her to ascend to godhood. Firstly Varanite, a rare form of molten realmstone that is found exclusively in the Eight Points and that is being mined by Archaon’s forces as a way of breaking the defences protecting the realmgate leading directly to Azyr. This stuff is really nasty, think liquid Warpstone that will mutate you beyond all recognition is you get as much as a drop of the stuff on you. The second artifact she needs is the Ocatian Lantern, a device used by Teclis to draw out the aelf-souls from Slaanesh that were used to craft the Idoneth Deepkin. Stolen by the fledgling Idoneth upon the realisation that Teclis wanted to destroy his failed creation, this artifact has been hidden deep beneath the waves ever since. From here out we see a couple of parallel threads showing Morathi and her agents achieve these goals – Morathi manages to convince Sigmar to send an army to assault Varranthax’s Maw to act as a distraction while a crack strike team headed by Morathi herself head deep into the mine to teleport the Varanite into the void between realms and 100% not steal it herself for some evil scheme. While most of Sigmar’s allies quite rightly see through Morathi’s deceit, Sigmar himself resigns himself to the fact that if he does not aid then he endangers Archaon obtaining enough of the material to breach the gates of Azyr. She also specifically requests that the Anvils of the Heldenhammer are deployed away from Anvilguard in order to help in the assault. That should turn out fine, right? Meanwhile Scourge Privateers and Shadowstalkers believe they have found the location of the Ocatian Lantern, and are deployed to steal this away from the Deep-Aelves Over the rest of Act 1 we see how both those campaigns play out, with some great battle scenes, plenty of betrayal and the deployment of a new weapon crafted by the Gaunt Summoners with the ability to stop a Stormcast returning to Azyr when they are slain. Morathi stabs the servents of Simar in the back and steals the Varanite for herself, while her agents manage to secure the Lantern (With a united army of angry Idoneth hot on the heels) We also meet a new character, Lord-Veritant Keiser Ven Brecht, descendant of a bloodline who have now fallen to the Curse of the Vampire. Ven Brect luckily manages to escape the battle after death despite Archaon’s new toys, his soul rushing back to Anvilguard to warn of what has transpired. In the second act we see Morathi’s master plan put into action – As both the Idoneth and a Slaaneshi force who have tracked her from The Eight Points close in on Hagg Nar itself, Morathi puts the finishing touches to her plan and we learn what it is exactly that she wants to do – travel into the belly of Slaanesh itself and extract the souls of Elven Kings of the World that Was, and in consuming the raw power of these souls she will ascend to the godhood she most desires. It very nearly works flawlessly until the very last soul faces her, heavily implied to be Aenarion himself, the Phoenix King and partner of Morathi in a time long gone. Angered at all Morathi has done, Aenarion splits Morathi in two rupturing her very soul. Morathi has achieved the godhood she wanted, however due to the Phoenix King’s actions she has been split – one soul in two bodies – The first the graceful from of Morathi-Khaine, the self proclaimed reincarnation of Khaine and the other The Shadow Queen, all the darkest elements of Morathi’s psyche coalesced into a nightmare winged snake creature. At this very moment something even more horrific happens, Slaanesh gives birth, The Newborn ripping itself out of Slaanesh’s belly and following Morathi back to the Mortal Realms… The forces of Slaanesh fall back from the battle around Hagg Narr, following the Newborn as it crosses through the sky like a comet, ready to meet their new infant god. The act ends with a jubilant Morathi brokering an alliance with the Idoneth against their common enemy Teclis. We don’t learn what the ultimate decision of Akhelian High King Volturnos is at this point, but to me this seems to be a clear sign that the faction of “Order” may be about to split into smaller warring factions each with their own agenda. In the final act we see Morathi’s first overt sign of a power grab, as Anvilguard itself falls to a combined assault both from Aelves within the city itself, who have pledged for Morathi-Khaine and the Scourge Privateers from Misthavn who are allied with her. The hero of the piece Ven Brecht manages to rally an impressive counterattack with the aid of the Duardin, but it is too little, too late with Morathi ultimately proving too powerful for them to stop. Morathi annexes the city, naming it now Har Kuron, the first part of her empire. In a genius move, the few remaining Stormcast defenders of the city are not killed, but rather captured and tortured, as a single dead Stormcast Eternal could end up back in Azyr and reveal Morathi’s hand too soon for her liking. Interestingly, Ven Brecht is rescued at the end of the book by an unknown source – all we know is that the figure has bat-like wings. With Ven Brecht having vampiric relations spelt out earlier in the book, I wonder if this is a nod to a new Soulblight force on the horizon. The Lore half of the book ends with thousands of Hedonites of Slaanesh, assembling before the Newborn as it begins to emerge into a great winged form and utter it’s first words to them. Edited November 7, 2020 by Clan's Cynic 4 1 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Talas Posted November 7, 2020 Share Posted November 7, 2020 Wow, I can't believe all that is happening... and this is just book one! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stratigo Posted November 7, 2020 Share Posted November 7, 2020 I am mildly amused but sympathetic to cubicle7 putting out a city guide only for GW to go a couple weeks later "lul Morathi conquered it and killed all the nonelves and renamed it" 4 1 4 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dekay Posted November 7, 2020 Share Posted November 7, 2020 57 minutes ago, stratigo said: I am mildly amused but sympathetic to cubicle7 putting out a city guide only for GW to go a couple weeks later "lul Morathi conquered it and killed all the nonelves and renamed it" Yeah i genuinely feel for them. Especially that they really did some quality writing in there. But I really like where this is going, because it means that AoS won't suffer from 40k's eternal status quo problem. Apparently the authors won't shy away from straight up removing a playable faction from the setting if it fits the narrative, only adding 'yeah you can still play anvilgard if you want' basically turning into a 'historical' faction and leaving a place for those who wanted to create, say, group of former citizens who escaped Morathi's conquest but are keeping the city's traditions alive, but, setting-wise? There's no Anvilgard anymore. And that's great, because now, with upcoming events such as siege of Excelsis we don't know what to expect. If it was done like in 40k, it would be 'Gordrakk wrought terrible ruin upon the city, but Stormcast heroically drove him off, so he ran, swearing vengeance. The city was quickly rebuilt.' Now we know we'll be getting some actual story! 7 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Overread Posted November 7, 2020 Share Posted November 7, 2020 Just a note - Authors will NEVER remove factions from the game. That's always a business/marketing/manufacture/CEO level choice. If its done then the lore adapts to service the change not the other way around. Also remember that Cities of Sigmar, by its very design, is a very loose construct so you can lose whole cities, but others will pop up in their image. So Anvilguard is lost, but from the ashes will arise Anvilsword which is the same city in all respects save lore. As for Cubical 7 - chances are their questing system might well be very much designed to build into the Morathi system. It might have been better timed last year when in planning it was laid out and then corona messed everyone up. 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Icegoat Posted November 7, 2020 Share Posted November 7, 2020 I think we all see where this is going one city of sigmar already removed they are going to be destroyed one by one as this series continues. Hopefully as in beyond my Hope's it ends with the azyr human forces emerging from sigmars realm as a new human army or it's a mass squat. Even I have to admit this is a good way to get rid of cities of sigmar and start something new narratively. We shall see. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
King Under the Mountain Posted November 7, 2020 Share Posted November 7, 2020 (edited) This sounds exactly like what I wanted. Everything PA was supposed to be but never was. Big set pieces with old and new characters, major lore ramifications and lots of factions having roles to play. Edited November 7, 2020 by King Under the Mountain misspelling 8 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
michu Posted November 7, 2020 Share Posted November 7, 2020 (edited) Cubicle7 was aware of that and their Anvilgard book will have a chapter about Har Kuron! https://discord.com/channels/658075953590697984/658699867585249280/774659279415672863 And we're going to have archetypes for Har Kuron characters in the Champions of Order book! Edited November 7, 2020 by michu 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stratigo Posted November 7, 2020 Share Posted November 7, 2020 5 minutes ago, michu said: Cubicle7 was aware of that and their Anvilgard book will have a chapter about Har Kuron! https://discord.com/channels/658075953590697984/658699867585249280/774659279415672863 And we're going to have archetypes for Har Kuron characters in the Champions of Order book! XD I own the book and there isn't a Har Kuron chapter Also what are you linking to here? I just get a login prompt Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
michu Posted November 7, 2020 Share Posted November 7, 2020 (edited) "We will actually have a section in Shadows in the Mist called "The Fall of Anvilgard" and will present information on the city of Har Kuron. We will also have some Rumour/Fear/Threats set AFTER the fall, which should be a tonne of fun" "You'll also see rules for playing characters from both Anvilgard and Har Kuron in Champions of Order" From the discord. Edited November 7, 2020 by michu 3 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Clan's Cynic Posted November 7, 2020 Author Share Posted November 7, 2020 (edited) 14 minutes ago, Icegoat said: I think we all see where this is going one city of sigmar already removed they are going to be destroyed one by one as this series continues. Hopefully as in beyond my Hope's it ends with the azyr human forces emerging from sigmars realm as a new human army or it's a mass squat. Even I have to admit this is a good way to get rid of cities of sigmar and start something new narratively. We shall see. Yeah, I was wondering if this was the plan as well, to have this and that disaster befall the various Free Cities to the point they largely cease to exist in their current form, but 'from the ashes' spring up their AoS-specific models and books. It'll be interesting to see if the next Daughters of Khaine Battletome continues Morathi's empire building by implementing the old WHFB Dark Elf units to flesh out the book (Disciples of Khaine?) Edited November 7, 2020 by Clan's Cynic 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
michu Posted November 7, 2020 Share Posted November 7, 2020 Except there are no new miniatures for Har Kuron. And Hammerhal is too important to fall. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Clan's Cynic Posted November 7, 2020 Author Share Posted November 7, 2020 (edited) 1 minute ago, michu said: Except there are no new miniatures for Har Kuron. And Hammerhal is too important to fall. Not yet, but Broken Realms are more a stopgap/laying the foundations for future plots. Edited November 7, 2020 by Clan's Cynic Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Envyus Posted November 7, 2020 Share Posted November 7, 2020 https://www.goonhammer.com/broken-realms-morathi-review/ Another good summary and review of the book. 2 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HorticulusTGA Posted November 7, 2020 Share Posted November 7, 2020 18 minutes ago, michu said: "We will actually have a section in Shadows in the Mist called "The Fall of Anvilgard" and will present information on the city of Har Kuron. We will also have some Rumour/Fear/Threats set AFTER the fall, which should be a tonne of fun" "You'll also see rules for playing characters from both Anvilgard and Har Kuron in Champions of Order" From the discord. Yes, Shadow in the mist is a series of supplements. For now, in the Anvilgard city guide, the fluff stops just before the event in Broken Realm : Morathi ; it mentions the coming of the Agonizers, the Black Ark apperaing in BR:M too. So they knew what is going to happen. I guess the next supplement in the Shadow in the mist series will contain the chapters about Har Kuron ! It's great that GW ties their story not only with Warcry (Catacombs), but also with a game from another company (Aka Cubicle7's RPG) ! Great team work here. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Icegoat Posted November 7, 2020 Share Posted November 7, 2020 21 minutes ago, michu said: Except there are no new miniatures for Har Kuron. And Hammerhal is too important to fall. No new miniatures but the old ones are technically lore dead. Hammerhal could be ashes tomorrow and it would make little difference. Sigmar would still have azyr. Archaon would still be undefeatable nagash would still have shyish. The cities could all fall and tbh at this point of it works lore wise why not. Something new is needed now Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Clan's Cynic Posted November 7, 2020 Author Share Posted November 7, 2020 10 minutes ago, HorticulusTGA said: Yes, Shadow in the mist is a series of supplements. For now, in the Anvilgard city guide, the fluff stops just before the event in Broken Realm : Morathi ; it mentions the coming of the Agonizers, the Black Ark apperaing in BR:M too. So they knew what is going to happen. I guess the next supplement in the Shadow in the mist series will contain the chapters about Har Kuron ! It's great that GW ties their story not only with Warcry (Catacombs), but also with a game from another company (Aka Cubicle7's RPG) ! Great team work here. If there isn't a pre-gen adventure to liberate (heh) some of the Stormcast from Morathi I'll be very surprised. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HorticulusTGA Posted November 7, 2020 Share Posted November 7, 2020 Just now, Clan's Cynic said: If there isn't a pre-gen adventure to liberate (heh) some of the Stormcast from Morathi I'll be very surprised. YES ! Also, talking about Spoilers, who freed that Stormcast at the end ? Spoiler A vampire, new Be'lakor or Malerion himself ??? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stratigo Posted November 7, 2020 Share Posted November 7, 2020 I suspect the lore reason why Morathi is setting up in Aqshy and not Ulgu is that Malerion would object 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Harpo2 Posted November 7, 2020 Share Posted November 7, 2020 Quote Also, talking about Spoilers, who freed that Stormcast at the end ? Maybe its a character related to the Halloween picture. New vampire Mortarch who is related to Ven Brecht? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
novakai Posted November 7, 2020 Share Posted November 7, 2020 i wonder if Idoneath, Daughters of Khaines, the dark aelve CoS forces and Malerion's army will eventually become their own grand alliance though i don't know if Volturnos and the deepkin' current distain for Teclis is enough to join up with Morathi 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
elfhead Posted November 7, 2020 Share Posted November 7, 2020 So does Slaanesh get free or does he give birth to a new god-child? Or both? I’m cautiously hoping the next book will continue with this Slaanesh storyline and we’ll see some new models (mortals) with it. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Overread Posted November 7, 2020 Share Posted November 7, 2020 Well its not as if orruks get on with each other let alone Gloomspite, Ogors or Gargants. Think of GW like "First and Third World" terms we use in the real world. We use them as terms to describe economic and social development. Within those groups you see similarities and patterns and alliance blocks. The Grand Alliances are the same, you don't have to be friends with anyone (Idoneth actively harvest souls from humans/aelves from Order all the time - the only reason they are in all out war is likely because the other GA don't have a powerful undersea force sufficient to wipe out the Idoneth- when they remember that they are there). So there can be war within a GA, its perfectly natural. Indeed with chaos beaten back somewhat and with power struggles within a GA its to be expected that there will be a struggle for dominance, influence and power in what is recovered. Such events are just what chaos can use to sow discontent, chaos and corruption as well as to leave Order forces weaker from within and thus ripe for invasion. It helps prevent the GA becoming all powerful and unable to be assaulted except by another GA 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
novakai Posted November 7, 2020 Share Posted November 7, 2020 21 minutes ago, Overread said: Well its not as if orruks get on with each other let alone Gloomspite, Ogors or Gargants. i think it because are all aligned with Gorkamorka that they somehow get along better when time comes to destroying time comes Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lord of the Isle Posted November 7, 2020 Share Posted November 7, 2020 45 minutes ago, Overread said: Well its not as if orruks get on with each other let alone Gloomspite, Ogors or Gargants. Think of GW like "First and Third World" terms we use in the real world. We use them as terms to describe economic and social development. Within those groups you see similarities and patterns and alliance blocks. The Grand Alliances are the same, you don't have to be friends with anyone (Idoneth actively harvest souls from humans/aelves from Order all the time - the only reason they are in all out war is likely because the other GA don't have a powerful undersea force sufficient to wipe out the Idoneth- when they remember that they are there). So there can be war within a GA, its perfectly natural. Indeed with chaos beaten back somewhat and with power struggles within a GA its to be expected that there will be a struggle for dominance, influence and power in what is recovered. Such events are just what chaos can use to sow discontent, chaos and corruption as well as to leave Order forces weaker from within and thus ripe for invasion. It helps prevent the GA becoming all powerful and unable to be assaulted except by another GA Amusingly Order in A o S is similar to the Forces of Evil in fantasy - unstoppably powerful if it wasn’t so divided against itself 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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